Heat sinks or heat spreaders are used in many applications for keeping the temperatures of thermally sensitive components or of electronic components having a large heat dissipation below specified temperature limits. Heat sinks usually comprise a metallic body. A thermal interface material (TIM) is typically arranged between this metallic body and the electronic component. The TIM fills the gap between the component surface and the metallic body and enhances the thermal coupling between these two components. The TIM is usually a soft material to protect the electronic component from shocks and vibrations. Physically limited, such soft TIMs possess relatively low thermal conductivities. To compensate for mechanical tolerances of the components, often a rather thick layer of TIM is provided. Low thermal conductivity, in combination with a large TIM thickness, however, increases the thermal resistance of the TIM which decreases the heat transfer through the TIM.